8 July 2019 Our researchers are in Zambia this week for workshops on pockets of effectiveness A major challenge for achieving poverty reduction is that the capacity of states to deliver development is in short supply. Nonetheless, recent research has identified that certain parts of t

Working paper 120 Download pdf Benjamin Chemouni The Rwandan Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) is recognised as the most effective organisation in the Rwandan state. The objective of the paper is to understand the organisational and political factors influencing MI

Working paper 119 Download pdf Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai and Giles Mohan Ghana’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has been identified as a ‘pocket of effectiveness’, both in relation to other state agencies and in terms of delivering on its mandate. However, this effectiveness has not been

Working Paper 117 Download pdf Sam Hickey The role of bureaucratic ‘pockets of effectiveness’ (PoEs) in driving development is generating renewed interest within development studies and, to an extent, development policy. Existing research on PoEs emphasises that politics plays a leadi

Working paper 118 Download pdf Giles Mohan The pockets of effectiveness (PoEs) debates and political settlements literature are rooted in particular forms of political economy analysis. At one level, this is a positive contribution to the mainstream development policy literature, and

Working paper 121 Download pdf Badru Bukenya and Sam Hickey Uganda’s impressive levels of economic growth over most of the past three decades have often been linked to the performance of its economic technocracy, particularly the government’s high-powered Ministry of Finance, Economic

Working paper 122 Download pdf Marja Hinfelaar and Justine Sichone Zambia experienced a decade of strong economic growth from 2004 to 2014, averaging 7.4 percent a year. This growth has been linked, first and foremost, to the rise of copper prices and international debt relief, but al